里根于1981年第一次总统就职演讲

1981年第一次总统就职演讲

Tuesday, January 20, 1981

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O’Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:

To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.

Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system, which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you, and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity, which is the bulwark of our Republic.

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed- income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding—we are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. However, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?

All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short,“We the people,”this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration’s objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this“new beginning”and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play, which is the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. Moreover, this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.

So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew; our faith and our hope.

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don’t know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter—and they are on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in them and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.

I have used the words“they”and“their”in speaking of these heroes. I could say“you”and“your”because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak—you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic“yes”. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.

In the days ahead, I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow—measured in inches and feet, not miles—but we will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden? In addition, these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans,“Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for our children, our children’s children and ourselves.

In addition, as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it—now or ever.

Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. Our adversaries in today’s world do not have a weapon. We as Americans do have a weapon. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.

I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.

This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. Then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln?

Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.

Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

Less than one such marker lays a young man—Martin Treptow—who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading,“My Pledge,”he had written these words: “America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, and I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems, which now confront us.

In addition, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.

God bless you, and thank you.

1981年1月20日，星期二

议员海特菲尔德先生、法官先生、总统先生、副总统布什、蒙代尔先生、议员贝克先生、发言人奥尼尔先生、尊敬的摩麦先生，以及广大支持我的美国同胞们：

今天对于我们大家来说，是一个非常庄严隆重的时刻，对这个国家的历史来说，却是一件普通的事情。按照宪法要求，政府权利正在有序地移交，我们已经如此“例行公事”了两个世纪，很少有人觉得这有什么不妥。但在世界上更多人看来，这个我们已经习以为常的四年一次的仪式，却实在是一个奇迹。

总统先生，我希望我们的国民能够记住你为了这个传承而付出的努力。通过移交程序中的通力合作，你向观察者展示了这样一个事实：我们是发誓要团结起来维护这样一个政治体制的团体，这样的体制保证了我们能够得到比其他政体更为广泛的个人自由。同时我也要感谢你和你的伙伴们的帮助，因为你们坚持了这样的传承，而这恰恰是我们共和国的根基。

我们国家的各项事业都在不断的发展过程中。美国正面临巨大的经济困难。我们遭遇到我国历史上历时最长，最严重的通货膨胀之一，它扰乱着我们的经济决策，打击着节俭的风气，压迫着正在挣扎谋生的青年人和收入固定的中年人，威胁着要摧毁我国千百万人民的生计。

工业发展变缓使工人失业、蒙受痛苦并失去了个人尊严。即使那些有工作的人，也因税收制度的缘故而得不到公正的劳动报酬，因为这种税收制度使我们无法在事业上取得成就，使我们无法保持充分的生产力。

尽管现在我们的纳税负担十分沉重，但还是跟不上公共开支的增长。数十年来，我们的赤字屡屡上升，为图眼前暂时的方便，我们把自己的前途和子孙的前途抵押了出去。这一趋势如果长此以往，必然引起社会、文化、政治和经济等方面的大动荡。

作为独立的个人，你们和我可以靠借贷过一段入不敷出的生活，然而只能维持一段有限的时期，我们怎么可以认为，作为一个国家就不应受到同样的约束呢?

为了保住明天，今天我们就必须行动起来。大家都要明白无误地懂得——从今天起我们就要采取行动。

几十年来，经济弊病一直袭击着我们，我们深受其害。这些弊病不会在几天、几星期或几个月内消失，但它们终将消失。它们之所以终将消失，是因为作为现在的美国人，我们一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情，以保存这个最后而又最伟大的自由堡垒。

在当前这场危机之中，政府的管理不能解决我们面临的问题。政府的管理就是问题所在。

我们时常会错误的以为，社会已经越来越复杂，已经不可能凭借自治方式加以管理，而一个由杰出人物组成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是假如我们之中谁也管理不了自己，那么我们之中谁还能去管理他人呢?

不论是政府官员，还是平民百姓，我们必须共同肩负起这个责任，我们谋求的解决办法必须是公平的，不要使任何一个群体付出较高的代价。

我们听到许多关于特殊利益集团的谈论，然而，我们必须关心一个被忽视了太久的特殊利益集团。这个集团没有区域之分，没有种族之分，没有民族之分，没有政党之分，这个集团由许许多多的男人与女人组成，他们生产粮食，巡逻街头，管理厂矿，教育儿童，照料家务和治疗疾病。他们是专业人员、实业家、店主、职员、出租汽车司机和货车驾驶员，总而言之，他们就是“我们的人民”，这个称之为美国人的民族。

本届政府的目标是必须建立一种健全的、生机勃勃的和不断发展的经济，为全体美国人民提供一种不因偏执或歧视而造成障碍的均等机会，让美国重新工作起来，意味着让全体美国人重新工作起来。制止通货膨胀，意味着让全体美国人从失控的生活费用所造成的恐惧中解脱出来。人人都应分担“新开端”的富有成效的工作，人人都应分享经济复苏的硕果。我国制度和力量的核心是理想主义和公正态度，有了这些我们就能建立起强大、繁荣、国内稳定并同全世界和平相处的美国。

因此，在我们开始改革之际，我们有必要看清现状。我们是一个拥有政府的国家，而不是一个拥有国家的政府。这一点使我们在世界各国中独树一帜，我们的政府除了人民授予的权力，没有任何别的权力。目前，政府权力的膨胀已显示出超过被统治者同意的迹象，制止并扭转这种状况的时候到了。

我打算压缩联邦机构的规模和权力，并要求大家承认联邦政府被授予的权力同各州或人民保留的权利这两者之间的区别。我们大家都需要记住：不是联邦政府创立了各州，而是各州创立了联邦政府。

因此请不要误解，我的意思不是要取消政府，而是要让它发挥作用，同我们一起合作，而不是凌驾于我们之上;同我们并肩而立，而不是骑在我们的背上。政府能够而且必须提供机会，而不是扼杀机会，它能够而且必须促进生产力，而不是抑制生产力。

这么多年来为什么我们能取得这么大的成就，并获得世界上任何一个民族未曾获得的繁荣昌盛，原因就是在这片土地上，我们使人类的能力和个人的才智得到了前所未有的发挥。在这里个人所享有并得以确保的自由和尊严超过了世界上任何其他地方。为这种自由所付出的代价有时相当高昂，但我们从来没有不愿意付出这样的代价。

我们目前的困难是与政府机构因为不必要的过度膨胀而干预、侵扰我们的生活同步增加，这绝不是偶然的巧合。我们是一个泱泱大国，不能自囿于小小的梦想，现在正是认识到这一点的时候。我们并非注定走向衰落，尽管有些人想让我们相信这一点。我不相信，无论我们做些什么，我们都将命该如此;但我相信，如果我们什么也不做，我们将的确命该如此。

为此，让我们以掌握的一切创造力来开创一个国家复兴的时代吧。让我们重新拿出决心、勇气和力量，让我们重新建立起我们的信念和希望吧。

我们完全有权去做英雄梦。那些评论我们现在是一个没有英雄时代的人，他们只不过没有用心观察。看啊!每一天进出工厂大门的工人们，辛勤耕作为我们提供食物的农民们，站在柜台后的服务生们，尽心尽力为社会创造财富、提供就业机会的企业家们，交纳赋税以维持国家运作的公民们，所有支持慈善事业、教会、文化及教育的人们，他们的举动是无声的，但爱国心却是不言自明的。他们的价值造就了我们的国家。

我刚才用“他们”这个人称来形容这些英雄，其实我也可以用“你们”。在这个上帝眷顾的国家，你们的梦想，你们的希望，你们的追求就是这个国家存在的理由。

我们的天性包含了同情。倘若我们热爱这个国家，怎么会不热爱自己的同胞。当他们挫折时，扶他们一把;当他们生病时，给予关照。对于弱者给予体面的帮助，使其自立。

我们现在能否战胜摆在面前的问题?答案是明确和肯定的：“能!”借用温斯顿·丘吉尔的话：“我刚才宣誓并不是想要在我的领导下，使这个世界上最强大的经济瓦解。”

在今后的一段时间，我将提议消除使经济发展缓慢和生产力下降的障碍，采取旨在恢复各级政府之间保持平衡的步骤。进展也许是缓慢的，只能用英寸和英尺来衡量，而不是英里，但我们将一直前进。现在是唤醒工业巨人的时候了，我们首要的任务是减轻惩罚性的赋税负担，使政府能够重新量入为出，在这些原则上绝不会妥协。

在国家立国前夕，我们的建国先贤之一，马塞诸萨州州长约瑟夫·沃伦博士对他的同胞们说：“我们的国家正处在危险之中，但我们丝毫不绝望。美国的前途就在我们手中。这个关系到尚未出生的千百万人的幸福和自由的重要问题由你们来决定，你们的行为将无愧于你们自己。”

同胞们，我相信当代的美国人已做好无愧于我们自己人生的准备，做好为确保我们自己、我们的孩子和子孙后代的幸福和自由必须进行行动的准备。

我们庆祝重振美国的此时，全世界的人们都在关注着，我们依旧是那些尚未获得自由的人民心中的自由灯塔!

对于我们的邻居，自由世界的同盟们，我们将进一步加强联络，保证我们承担的义务。我们将以心换心，但我们决不会干涉你们的主权，希望你们也不会干涉我们。

对于自由世界的敌人，我们潜在的对手。我们要使其明白，和平是美国人最高的愿望。我们可以与你们谈判、妥协，但我们决不会屈服，永远不会。

请你们不要误会我们的忍耐，我们努力避免冲突但绝不代表我们屈服。当我们的国家安全受到威胁时，我们会采取行动。我们将保持拥有压倒性对手的武力，因为我们知道只有拥有足够的武力，才能确保我们不会使用武力。

首先，我们必须认识到世界上没有任何武器能比自由人民的道义和勇气更强大。这恰恰是我们美国人民所具备，而我们的对手没有的武器。这一点，所有支持恐怖主义和觊觎弱小国家者都要明白。

我听说今天各地举行了数以万计的祷告会，我衷心地感到欣慰。我们是上帝护佑的国度，上帝给了我们自由。如果以后每一届的就职日都能成为祷告日，那是很好的事情。

大家都知道，这是历史上第一次在白宫西走廊举行的就职典礼。在这里我们能看到整个首都的风貌，而这广场另一端就是我们先贤们的圣坛。

我的正前方是乔治·华盛顿纪念碑，我们伟大的国父。是他领导了独立革命战争的胜利，并创建了这个国家。在其旁边则是另一位伟大的先贤托马斯·杰弗逊，《独立宣言》的作者。而在水池的尽头是雄伟的林肯纪念堂。从林肯的一生你能体会出什么是美国的精神。

在这些古迹旁是缓缓流淌的波托马可河，而岸边斜斜的山坡正是阿灵顿公墓。这些小小的十字架，六芒星下的墓志铭，述说着我们赢取自由所付出的代价。

每一个墓志铭都是之前我所说的英雄事迹。这些英雄的生命倒在贝洛森林，阿尔贡丘陵，奥马哈海滩，萨勒诺，半个地球外的瓜岛，塔拉瓦岛，长津湖，以及遍地是稻田丛林的叫越南的地方。

在这些墓碑中，有一个叫马丁·特雷普托的年轻人，他在1917年辞掉了小镇理发店的工作，跟随著名的“彩虹师”去了法国，在西线他在为营长传递命令时，被重炮击中而牺牲。

后来，在他的遗体上发现了一本日记。在扉页处他写道：“我发誓美国必须赢得这场战争，所以，我会奋斗，我会拯救，我会牺牲，我会忍受，我会奋勇战斗，所有的苦难都将由我一个人来肩负。”

今天我们面临的危机并不要求我们像马丁·特雷普托那样作出如此巨大的牺牲。但我们也要竭尽全力，有所作为。拥有上帝的协助，我们必能度过危机。

我们有什么理由不相信呢?记住!我们是美国人。

上帝保佑你们，谢谢。